Publication:
Tracking Risk Factors Related to an Outbreak of COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers in a General Medicine Ward

dc.contributor.authorVarghese, Ben Thomas
dc.contributor.authorHasan, Hemica
dc.contributor.authorToba, Nagham
dc.contributor.authorAlsharif, Ghadah
dc.contributor.authorKhamis, Amar H.
dc.contributor.authorHo, Samuel B.
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-06T08:10:13Z
dc.date.available2024-06-06T08:10:13Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractBackground: An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection occurred in a medical ward involving patients and hospital staff from May to June 2020. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine risk factors related to the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in six healthcare workers (HCWs) in a medical ward with initially unrecognized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive patients. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using a comprehensive questionnaire and personal interviews to determine the risk factors for COVID-19 infection in HCWs. Findings: A total of 6/34 HCWs were diagnosed with COVID-19 in a medical ward. There were no differences between COVID-19 negative HCWs and COVID-19 positive HCWs in terms of mean duration of hours worked in the unit during the cluster event (180.2 vs 177.5 hours) (p>0.05), mean total time spent in contact with COVID19 positive patients (12.8 vs 10.5 hours) (p>0.05), mean total time spent on aerosol-generating procedures (1.9 vs 0.9 hours) (p>0.05), and mean total time spent on non-aerosol generating procedures (10.9 vs 9.6 hours ) (p>0.05). There was no difference in exposure to COVID-19 positive family members among the HCWs (33% vs 3.7%, p=0.08). In contrast, exposure to COVID-19 positive contacts in the community was significantly greater in infected vs non-infected HCWs (16.7% vs 0%, p=0.03). Conclusion: There was no significant difference in risk factors for contracting SARs-CoV2 among HCWs due to hospital exposures. COVID-19 positive HCWs were more likely to be exposed to positive individuals in their households and community, indicating that the source of SARS-CoV-2 infection came from outside the hospital.en_US
dc.identifier.other204-2023.181
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.mbru.ac.ae/handle/1/1458
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectHospital-acquired infectionen_US
dc.subjectInfection controlen_US
dc.subjectHealthcare workeren_US
dc.subjectSars-cov-2en_US
dc.subjectCovid-19en_US
dc.titleTracking Risk Factors Related to an Outbreak of COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers in a General Medicine Warden_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dspace.entity.typePublicationen_US

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